فَلَمَّا ذَهَبُوا بِهِ وَأَجْمَعُوا أَنْ يَجْعَلُوهُ فِي غَيَابَتِ الْجُبِّ وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْهِ لَتُنَبِّئَنَّهُمْ بِأَمْرِهِمْ هَذَا وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ ﴿۱۵﴾ وَجَاءُوا أَبَاهُمْ عِشَاءً يَبْكُونَ ﴿۱۶﴾ قَالُوا يَا أَبَانَا إِنَّا ذَهَبْنَا نَسْتَبِقُ وَتَرَكْنَا يُوسُفَ عِنْدَ مَتَاعِنَا فَأَكَلَهُ الذِّئْبُ وَمَا أَنْتَ بِمُؤْمِنٍ لَنَا وَلَوْ كُنَّا صَادِقِينَ ﴿۱۷﴾

﴾15﴿ Falammaa zahaboo bihee wa ajma'ooo anyyaj'aloohu fee ghayaabatil jubb; wa awhainaaa ilaihi latunabbi 'annahum bi amrihim haaza wa hum laa yash'uroon
﴾16﴿ Wa jaaa'ooo abaahum 'ishaaa 'any yabkoon
﴾17﴿ Qaaloo yaaa abaanaaa innaa zahabnaa nastabiqu wa taraknaa Yoosufa 'inda mataa'inaa fa akalahuz zi'b, wa maaa anta bimu'minil lanaa wa law kunnaa saadiqeen

﴾15﴿ So when they took him and firmly resolved to throw him into the depths of the well, We revealed to him: 'You will surely inform them about this affair of theirs while they do not perceive
﴾16﴿ And they came to their father at night, weeping
﴾17﴿ They said, O father, indeed we went racing with one another and left Joseph by our belongings, and a wolf devoured him. But you will not believe us, even if we are truthful

[15] In this verse, the agreement of Yusuf’s (peace be upon him) brothers to throw him into the well is mentioned. This is evidence that a sin does not become permissible just because many people agree to it.
In (fa-lammā dhahabū bihī), the result of the conditional is omitted, meaning: “they did with him what they did.” The commentators have mentioned that they stayed with him in the cave for three days.
In (wa awḥaynā)—“and We inspired him”—the intended meaning of waḥy here is inspiration before prophethood, which is called irhāṣ (preliminary sign of prophethood). However, some say this was true revelation (waḥy ḥaqīqī), and that is the more favored interpretation.
As for (wa hum lā yash‘urūn)—“while they were unaware”—there are two explanations: the first is that his brothers were unaware of the divine inspiration and the high rank of Yusuf (peace be upon him); the second is that they would not recognize Yusuf (peace be upon him) when he would later inform them of their past deceit.
[16] In this verse, another deception of Yusuf’s (peace be upon him) brothers toward their father is described. They used two strategies:
First, they returned home later than usual, to avoid exposing their false cries in the darkness of night and to make it seem as though their delay was due to the incident that had taken place.
Second, they cried falsely. Scholars have said that this verse is evidence that a person’s weeping does not necessarily indicate truthfulness—it could be a form of deceit.
This is because weeping can take many forms. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in Zād al-Ma‘ād (p. 184) ten types of crying:
1. Crying from mercy and a soft heart.
2. Crying from fear and awe of Allah.
3. Crying from love and longing.
4. Crying out of joy.
5. Crying from pain or illness.
6. Crying from sorrow and grief.
7. Crying due to cowardice and weakness of heart.
8. Crying from hypocrisy and showing off—tears from the eyes while the heart is hard, used to appear pious in front of people.
9. Crying for wages—like professional mourners who cry over the dead.
10. Crying in imitation—when someone sees another person crying and joins in, without knowing the reason.
[17] In this verse, the brothers attempt to console their father with false excuses. The word (nastabiq)—“we were racing”—indicates that competitive racing is permissible in Shari‘ah, whether it be with horses, camels, or on foot. Racing with arrows (archery competitions) is also mentioned in Hadith, with the conditions outlined therein.
In this context, the racing refers to a foot race or a competition of speed.
(matā‘inā)—“our belongings”—means that during play and running, extra garments are often removed and left in one place; this is the matā‘ (belongings) referred to here.